DAVAO CITY –“Figures don’t lie,” says a popular quote.
This is how Dr. Guido David, chief data scientist of the Octa research team described the figures of Mindanao’s poverty situation.
In an exclusive interview with Newsline Philippines David said he is worried that there is a registered downward trend or trajectory of ‘self-rated poverty’ in the entire county.
But the readable trend or sentiment of the people of Mindanao is different.
“Based on the survey on self-rated poverty of our Filipinos for the first quarter of this year shows a decrease in the number of those who consider themselves poor by 11% in the national capital region, 18% decrease in the balance of Luzon and 10 % dive in Visayas,” David explained.
“But Mindanao is different since there is a registered 71% increase in those who believe that they are still poor as of March 2024,” he emphasized
He revealed that in a similar survey, it came out that 90% of Filipino adults describe themselves as ‘poor’.
The data scientist, this should be a “Wake-up call to study and assess what is missing in the existing government anti-poverty alleviation programs that should be approved or revised to change the perception of the people concerning the state of living and economy in the country.”
In addition to the Octa research, the same measure or barometer for the voters in the 2025 midterm and 2028 presidential elections whom to elect because the people want a leader who will bail them out from poverty.
